A story of a hero
by Last.one.02
Summary: There are heroes among us. There are people greater than life itself. They look ordinary, but they are not that. Annie is anything but ordinary, but only handful of people know that. The team   OC,     Written for Mary Sue challenge at NFA.
1. Chapter 1

She woke up half past seven. Her greyish eyes full of sleep, she stood up. She groaned – she didn't want to go to school. Not today, she was way too tired from the red eye she took from London last night. Still she stood up and went to the bathroom. Slowly she brushed her teeth, then she combed her dark blonde hair and looked herself from the mirror. She looked like crap. The girl changed into pair of blue jeans, white t-shirt and gray sweatshirt. Moving to the hall she grabbed her schoolbag and looked at the time – 8.52 am.

'' Crap, '' she groaned.

She went to the kitchen, found left-over pizza from the fridge and took a slice. Then drank orange juice from the box and closed the fridge. 8.58 said the clock on the wall.

Annie grabbed her keys, locked the door and hurried to the school. On the half way she realized, that she's not gonna make it in time. Still she moved fast, but still not running. As she crossed the road, she took out her pack of cigarets and lighter. She put the smoke to her mouth and lighted it. Smoke taste with menthol came to her mouth and she kept on going.

The cigar done, she entered the school at 8.15. Lessons started 5 minutes ago. Without going to locker, she climbed to the forth floor of the schoolhouse and started walking towards the old history class 409. Her teacher was ancient, tough, but the same the best teacher, because she knows everything and she really makes students learn. Annie is one of her favorites, because she is good at history, but the teacher, whose nickname is Tank, because you can hear her coming from the other side of the hallway, is not pleased with the girl being late, again.

Annie opened the door.

'' Haven't you learned to wake up at normal time ? '' the teacher barked.

'' Sorry, the alarm didn't work, '' Annie said as she was walking to her spot. A smile flashed on her classmates faces as the girl walked to her spot in the last bench by the window. Her deskmate laughed at her.

Annie rolled her eyes and said nothing.

'' Now that Annie had decided to join us, maybe she can tell us all the reasons of second world war, '' Tank asked. A mischievous smirk was on the teacher's face for a second.

'' Well, to start of course the Versailles system was not good enough to keep the peace, German people went crazy, when they decided to choose Hitler as their leader on 1933, then the Soviet union was also trying to conquer the world, Mussolini wanted to make Italy as powerful as Roman Empire was, The Spanish war was there to test weapons, France, UK and also America did nothing to stop it, they gave in everything Hitler and Stalin wanted... um... You wanna hear some more ? '' Annie said without really thinking hard.

'' Politeness young lady. Now as Annie said the Second world war... '' Tank started talking again. Annie put her head on the table and closed her eyes.

She felt someone nudging her and so she opened her eyes. Apparently the lesson was over.

'' What do we have now ? '' Annie asked Marie – her deskmate.

'' Physics, '' Marie replied.

'' Great. Wanna skip ? '' Annie asked.

'' Yeah, '' Marie replied.

With that the two separated from the group and went to the school cafeteria instead. The cafeteria was empty at the early hour. A few seniors were sitting there drinking coffee and studying for the next lesson. Marie and Annie threw their bags to the empty roundtable by the window and went to buy something. Annie poured herself a cup of coffee, but Marie took juice and salad. They payed and sat down across each other.

'' You look like hell, '' Marie said to her friend.

'' Oh, you know how to make compliments, '' Annie groaned and sipped the coffee.

'' Seriously. You were out partying last night ? '' Marie asked and smirk was playing on her lips.

'' Something like that. Weren't you ? '' Annie asked.

'' Nope. Actually I got a good night sleep and I am really in a good mood today, '' Marie said happily.

'' Yeah, you're the only person in the world, who is happy in the Monday morning, '' Annie said.

'' Yep, '' Marie agreed.

The silence took over as Annie drank her coffee and Marie ate the breakfast.

Annie looked at the entrance and saw her teacher walking in. It was their Estonian teacher, nicknamed Rexona. It's actually, because she is married to a Muslim from Northern Africa and her last name is too complicated to remember, but Rexona sounds nice. Annie also started calling her bimbo, because the teacher tends to flirt with the guys from her class and also wear very open shirts and short skirts. She is that kind of teacher.

'' Bimbo is on the move, '' Annie stated.

'' Great. Now we have to go listen her flirtation, '' Marie groaned.

Annie rolled her eyes.

Rexona walked up to them and sat at the table.

'' May I ask you why aren't you in the lesson ? '' she asked.

'' It's our oral test time. Took the test last lesson, so we don't have to go to physics today, '' Annie lied quickly.

'' And what topic, may I ask ? '' Rexona asked.

'' Planets and sun and meteors and asteroids and such things. I can show you my notes if you're interested, '' Annie said.

'' No. But I do remind you that you have to come to my lesson, today we're discussing Faust and I expect you to have read the book, '' Rexona was certain.

'' Yes. Finished last night. Very fascinating book. It was interesting to read about the devil taking a human form and then doing all the bad things, but the same I think he had good intentions. And Goethe managed to write it in rhymes. Very extraordinary, '' Annie talked like it was the best book ever.

'' Very good Annie. See you in 2 hours, room 301 if you don't remember, '' Rexona said and left two girls alone.

'' I hate that bitch, '' Annie said, when her teacher was out of reach.

'' You're a good liar, '' Marie was impressed.

'' It's a gift. I choose not to doubt it and use it as much as I can, '' Annie said and smiled wickedly.

'' There's so much I still don't know about you, '' Marie said and laughed.

'' Trust me, you don't wanna know, '' Annie said. Her words were so true – there was so much her friends at home didn't know about. Much more that they could even guess.

'' Yeah. I believe you. You wanna go out for a little smoking session ? '' Marie asked.

'' Let's go, '' Annie said. She emptied her cup and they both stood up and went outside.

***NCIS***

They day went fast. Soon the clock was 15.30 and the last lesson – biology was over.

'' Remember, we have test next time. I trust you to be prepared, '' the teacher said and 28 students ran out of the classroom.

Annie went to her locker, took her notebook and left school. She was listening to the music on her way home. She was moving slowly, because she was exhausted. Finally she reached home, threw her bag to the hall with her tennis shoes, then her sweatshirt flew into the living room and she fell on the couch without changing clothes. The moment she closed her eyes she was deep asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Written in the stars by Tinie Tempah ft Eric Turned started playing in her phone. It's Annie's current ringtone. Groggy and sleepy, but still she reached the floor by the couch, where her phone was.

"You're dead," she said in her mother tongue.

"Is that like Swedish, Cath ?" Anthony DiNozzo asked.

"Tony," Annie stated. A big mistake to use her language others didn't understand.

"That's me. Your favorite senior field agent working in NCIS," Tony said upping his ego.

"What do you want ?" Annie asked.

"We need you. Or actually we need Emma Niles," Tony said.

"Sure. I'll get tickets and I'll be there tomorrow," Annie said and hang up.

Yeah, Emma Niles was one of her aliases. She was 22 and arms dealer. Got along with Black Rose and mainly sold weapons to terrorist groups. Currently on Interpol most wanted list, FBI watch list, CIA is after her and NCIS has a bolo on her for double homicide. Actually she has done nothing wrong, but it makes her trustworthy in the arms dealers world. She also deals with drugs and occasionally doing hits.

In NCIS she was known as Catherine Steel and she was from UK transferred to US on special occasions. Team Gibbs knew, that she was not from UK, but they didn't know where she was from really. Annie had kept that as a secret, because her life outside NCIS was safe and she didn't want anyone to find it out and maybe leak the info.

At home people knew her as Annie Schultz and that's the name she was given by her mother. Her father probably doesn't know about her existence and her mother died about year ago. She was killed by Russian maffia and so Annie was brought to USA and taken into witness protection. She blamed herself for her mother and during the investigation of her mother's death, she grew close to people investigating it – Gibbs, Tony, Kate and McGee. She was given a training by them and by accident she became an special agent, off the record of course. The team has now changed – Kate is no longer alive, but Mossad officer Ziva David has taken her desk, but not her place. And the director has changed, now the agency is lead by strong Jennifer Sheppard. Actually Jenny knows more about Annie than others, but she is keeping secrets.

Actually that 17-years-old girl has many aliases and secrets. But that's her life now. She has worked with FBI, CIA, NCIS, WhitSec and some other agencies. She has been trained by NCIS, Mossad and FBI, plus all the training she did by herself. She has always been a quick learner so fighting arts, firearm using skills and also hacking skills were easy to come. She was named a wondergirl by Tony pretty fast.

***NCIS***

The girl with dark blonde hair and distinctive eyes, which were a mix of gray, green and blue, stepped into the airport in Washington DC. She was wearing her white jeans and light blue sweater and pair of white sneakers. She was wearing sunglasses as she rushed through the airport. She had been flying all night from London to the states. She hadn't called anyone yet, but somehow she knew that they were waiting for her.

Annie walked to the exit and noticed that it was raining. The plane was early and there was no way she was waiting for someone to pick her up. She held her hand over her messy hair and she ran to the parking lot. She noticed a shiny silver audi and then her decision was made. Quickly she walked to the car, looked carefully around, took out her equipment and the car door opened to her without the alarm starting to work. Annie started the car with the wires and then she drove from the airport to the NCIS HQ. She enjoyed driving after long months in her home, where she doesn't own a car. Jenny found that it would compromise her cover, if someone would be driving worse than Ziva in the peacefullest place in the world. So Jenny made it clear, that Annie could not drive back home. It has been 6 months already.

Annie was in the Navy Yard in no time. Luckily the car was not broken and Annie was alive. She parked her car, where usually and walked into the familiar building. She got herself a visitor's tag and the security removed all of her weapons and then she was free to go. She took the elevator and pressed a familiar floor number. And she waited as the elevator went up.

**ding**

Annie stepped out of the elevator and she was almost ran over by Abby. They both fell on the elevator floor. Abby was in the rush to her lab and she didn't notice the younger girl coming out of the elevator as she ran in.

"Cath, is that you ?" Abby asked as she stood up to look at the damage.

"Guilty," Annie replied as she held her head and tried to stand up.

Abby was back on her feet and gave Annie her helping hand and so she pulled the slender female up into a tight hug. The truth is that Annie likes Abby and her hugs, but the girl has never been the hugging type. Annie closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment with her friend until she felt her lungs screaming for more oxygen since Abby was hugging her tight.

Annie patted on Abby's back and the forensic specialist let her go.

"I'm so happy that you're home," Abby said and smile widely.

"I'm not home Abs. My home is on the other continent. I'm here for the job," Annie said and walked towards the bullpen. Her left hand was scratching the back of her head, because it hurt from the fall.

Abby looked at her and then walked into the elevator. The doors closed and Abby got a glimpse of young blonde walking to team Gibbs.

Everybody had heard Abby's and Annie's collision. So when Annie walked towards Gibbs, Tony, McGee and Ziva, they had already noticed her.

"Your flight is supposed to land in an hour," McGee said and looked at the time.

"But it landed an hour before," Annie said.

"I missed you Cath," Tony said and stood from his desk. He walked to Annie and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled the girl to him. Annie was on her tiptoes as her hands went around Tony's neck and she pressed her face to his shoulder. She had missed Tony – the NCIS agent, who knows what fun is and is good at his job. And he knows things about movies.

They both received a headslap from the silver haired marine. Annie took a step back and rubbed her head. Tony did the same. Gibbs was standing right behind Annie.

"Ouch," Tony groaned.

"Hi... Gibbs," Annie said and turned around. She was facing Gibbs, who was giving her a stare and she returned one.

"Catherine," Gibbs said and gave her a nod after a moment of silence.

The awkward silence fell on the group. Ziva was the one to enlighten it. She stood from her desk and walked to Annie, who was standing in the middle of bullpen. Ziva hugged the younger female and whispered to her ear "I missed you." Annie was taken by a little surprise. "Missed you too Zi," she said before pulling away.

Annie then turned to McGee. He was still behind his desk looking at the scene unwrapping in front of him.

"Hey Probie," Annie said and smiled.

"Nice to see you again Cath," McGee said, obviously awkward.

"You too," Annie said to McGee and winked.

Then she went over to Tony's desk and sat on it. She threw her back to floor and looked at the people in front of her.

"So, can anyone tell me why I am here and not in school studying god knows what ?" Annie asked.

"DiNozzo told you," Gibbs said and went back to his desk.

"He told me that they need Emma Niles, but that's just a half of the story," Annie said.

"And you are telling us everything ?" Gibbs asked.

"Nope. Everybody has secrets. I might be dead, when mine come out. So I keep something to myself special agent Gibbs. I am here for the job and I don't have a whole day," Annie said and looked at Gibbs. There was anger in her eyes and Gibbs knew that so well. There was an issue between two of them, others didn't know about the problem, they just knew that there was one.

"We have possible terrorist cell getting active. I need Emma to get into there and get enough information to bust it," Ziva said, trying to ease the tension in the air.

"Cool. I need to change and then I'm ready," Annie said.

They heard a pair of heels coming down the stairs. Everybody looked up and noticed Director Sheppard descending the stairs.

"Jenny," Annie said as her friend walked to them.

"Cath. The agency has been quiet without you," Jenny said and hugged the blonde.

"Oh, I doubt it. It's never quiet when Gibbs is around pissing off other agencies and Tony is talking movies and McGee is typing and Ziva is playing ninja and Abby's music makes this place loud. Of course we can't forget Ducky's educating talks with the dead and Jenny, you too, your voice is almost heard to China, when you and Gibbs get into a fight," Annie said simply.

Everybody took a minute to look at the girl looking all innocent and the same they all know that she is dangerous, when she needs to be.

"Okay. Come with me, I'll brief you in. Jethro and Tony are welcomed to join too. Ziva please get Cath's weapons from the security and McGee go help Abby, '' Jenny said and walked towards her office. Annie, Tony and Gibbs right after her. Ziva and McGee headed to the elevator on the other side.

***NCIS***

Annie was in the alley of DC. She was waiting for her old partner Daavi to show up. Daavi is also her ex-boyfriend, they had an undercover mission in Spain months ago, but she left him. He is also a good agent and a little older than Annie is. Daavi also knows her as Catherine.

Annie took out her cigarets and lighter. She took a cigar and lighted it. The menthol taste came to her mouth again. She smoked there quietly, when she heard a voice.

"I thought you quit," Daavi said.

"I thought you were not talking to me again," Annie said and turned around.

"Changed my mind," He said and looked at her.

" Me too," Annie said and looked into the shining blue eyes her friend has.

Together they walked down the street to a bar they had to meet their terrorists. They walked in silence. Slowly Daavi made his move and caught her hand in his. She was surprised, but deep inside Daavi was still her lover.

They made it to the bar. Daavi ordered beers and they sat down behind a table. She looked at him and her memories flashed back to their time in Spain.

_***flashback***_

_Annie and Daavi were in the middle of gunfight. Annie just realized that she is out of ammo._

"_I'm out," she said._

"_I have few more," Daavi said and shot until he was out too._

_She gave him a look._

"_Now we're in trouble," Daavi said._

_They exchanged a look and ran in the other direction. Suddenly the world seemed to stop. Shots were fired, followed by a scream. And then another scream. Everything went quiet, everything was blank. Shots were heard in distance and people were running. _

_A scene unwrapped in front of the agent. A girl lying down in a pool of blood and a man over her, trying to keep the wound from bleeding. The girl's eyes were opened and she looked around. The last time she saw was special agent Caitlin Todd leaning over her and whispering to hang on. _

_***flashback***_

"Cath you there ?" Daavi asked.

"Yeah. I was just reminding Toledo," She said.

The silence fell over the table.

Soon their "friends" were there and smoothing things over had been easier than they thought. They set up a meeting tomorrow morning, where they deliver the first equipment. Mission accomplished so far.


	3. Chapter 3

Annie sat on Tony's couch. She was drinking a cocktail she made herself and Tony had a beer. The movie was playing, buy neither of them really payed attention.

"What's wrong with you and Gibbs ?" Tony asked finally.

"Me and Gibbs are fine," Annie said.

"Liar. Why is he mad at you ?" Tony asked.

"Because he is a world class bastard," Annie said.

"Why are you mad at him ?" Tony asked.

"Because he is a bastard. Tony, just drop it," Annie said.

"I won't. What happened ?" Tony asked.

Annie sighed and considered telling the truth about her and Gibbs' fight.

_***flashback***_

_Annie and Gibbs were in his basement. She drank her coffee and he was drinking bourbon. It was just after the accident in Toledo, where Annie almost died due to GSW in the abdomen. Somehow she managed to survive and can go back to normal life._

"_I can't have you working with us," Gibbs said._

"_Why ?" Annie asked._

"_You almost died. You are just a kid," Gibbs' voice was rough and he stared the floor in front of him._

"_But I didn't. Risk comes with the job. I wanna become an agent," Annie said._

"_No. You will not become an agent. I like you Annie. You are talented and good, but I can't work with you there, because you are just a kid and shouldn't risk your life," Gibbs said._

_Annie was silent for a moment._

"_I'm not a kid, Jethro. I am a grown-up woman. I can make my own decisions and I wanna be like you and Kate and Tony and McGee," Annie said._

"_No. It's too dangerous kid," Gibbs said and looked at the teenager._

"_But you are doing it. Isn't it dangerous to you ?" Annie asked burning up._

"_I am trained. You are not. I have lived, you haven't," Gibbs was honest._

"_If I was anyone else, would you let me join ?" Annie asked and looked into his icy blue eyes._

"_Probably yes," Gibbs admitted._

_Annie had had enough. _

"_You don't want me working there just because of your relationship with my mother. I can't believe that you are such an chauvinist and bastard. Just because you had an affair with her years ago doesn't mean that I can't be part of your team. You can't ruin this for me. What am I going back to ? I have nothing left in home. My best friend was in coma and her brain is not the same, my mother is dead, my grades are going down and I don't know how to go back to school and pretend everything is okay," Annie rambled, but her voice was full of anger and fear._

"_Go back home Cath. Live your life. You don't understand. I CAN'T work around you. You are a living reminder of your mother and it reminds me the mistakes I did. I can't do this every day," Gibbs said, his voice raising._

"_I can't believe that bitch is ruining everything for me," Annie said and rolled her eyes._

"_Don't talk about your mother like that," Gibbs said._

"_Why not ? She's a bitch. She died before I managed to make her tell me truth about my father. Now I am left with no knowledge of the man I wanna kill," Annie said and drank her coffee. _

_Gibbs sighed. _

"_You're mother was pregnant, when I knew her. She told about you to the father, but he couldn't adjust the idea of being father and so he ran," Gibbs said slowly._

"_You know the bastard ?" Annie asked._

"_Yes, Cath. I am your father," Gibbs said and looked at the teenager in rage. Her face turned into red and her eyes looked like she was about to cry. She collected her for a minute._

"_I'm gonna leave your basement and I don't wanna hear anything about you again," Annie said and stood._

"_Cath, come on. Let's talk about it," Gibbs said standing too. He put his hand to his daughter's shoulder._

"_No. I hate you. Stay away from me," Annie said and shook the hand away. She ran up the stairs before Gibbs could say anything else. _

_***flashback***_

Annie looked at Tony sitting next to her.

"Let's say old family secret came out and Gibbs is involved. You don't ask me questions, you don't tell anyone about it. You just know it now, '' Annie said and looked at Tony.

He nodded and she turned her look to the television screen. She felt sleep coming, but she fought against it. One moment she fell asleep without realizing it.

Tony looked at the sleeping girl beside him. He has to admit that she is special, she is gorgeous and it's something in her that makes everyone look back at her. She has the most amazing eyes ever – if you stare into them long enough then you could notice them changing color. It's a mix of gray, blue and green. Tony thinks they are rather blue, but others don't agree. Her hair is distinctive – it's dark blonde with pink stripes. It's hair color that stands out, because many might have it, but only she can wear it out. She can make them look really blonde or brown, just depending on the light and her hairstyle. The pink of course adds a lot to them. It makes her hind of hard to miss in the crowd. Her figure is slender, you could say that she falls, when you push with your little finger, but it's not true. In reality she can fight with men like they are dolls and she always wins the fight. She is strong, but sh manages to hide it behind her slim figure. Her skin tone is creamy, it's like she has got very even tan and she has that all year long. Of course she has a very distinctive smell too. Tony has often wondered about it, but he has never figured it out. It's like a flower and fruit at the same time, it's sweet and bittersweet, it's refreshing and intoxicating. It's just Cath, like he puts it. She has a brilliant brain, as far as he knows, she speaks English, Swedish, French, Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, Russian, German and Italian, but there might be more. Beside he doesn't know her home either. Maybe she is from Poland and speaks Polish too... There's no way she'd tell him that. Tony also knows that Cath has a tattoo on her upper back. It's a roaring tiger and it looks very beautiful. It's not that usual and boring.

Tony voted with himself, but then chose to take her to bed. He lifted her up and for his luck she didn't wake up. She was so peaceful. He walked slowly and carefully to his bedroom. He put Annie under the blanket and tucked her in. She looked beautiful, calm and vulnerable in her sleep, but he know that she is not vulnerable. She is the strongest person he knows.

Tony took out the extra pillow and blanket and went to the living room. He made himself a bed on the couch. Then he turned off the TV, took glasses to kitchen and went to sleep. He had his gun under the pillow, just in case. Today he had something precious in the apartment and he was taking no chances.


	4. Chapter 4

***NCIS***

The equipment delivery went well and Annie managed to find the place, where the first shooting was about to take place. Since it was not a public place, then NCIS agent had troubles hiding themselves somewhere. Annie and Daavi had to come with their terrorists, but Gibbs, Tony, McGee, Ziva and Jenny were somewhere near, trying to cover it. It was not a public place, but kindergarten was near and they were taking no chances, when innocent little kids are nearby.

Gibbs and Jenny were hiding on the roof, where Gibbs had a good sight and his sniper rifle ready to fire. Jenny had the binoculars and her sidearm. She was also known for punctuality in everything.

Ziva and McGee were hiding by the trashcans. They were near and so they were backup, when something went wrong and Gibbs was not able to take the shot.

Tony and Abby had bugged the warehouse and they were controlling the connections. Tony was there to protect Abby and also he was near the kindergarten, just in case.

They were all ready. Finally 2 cars pulled in and 8 people got out. There were Annie and Daavi with 6 terrorists cell members. They were carrying bags into the empty building and everything looked okay still. Annie seemed to be in control.

The fact is that she was a little worried, but she knew it's gonna be okay.

They went into the building out of NCIS people sight. Everybody took out the equipment – there were guns, explosives and a laptop.

"Girl's gonna hack into the system," A cell leader announced.

"I don't know how," Annie lied.

"You will, or your little friends are dead," the man said wickedly.

"I don't have friends," Annie lied, but she looked sincere.

"What about those NCIS agents that are guarding this place ?" the man said. He took out his gun and shot some 4 times. All the cameras Abby had placed inside were broken. NCIS had no eyes nor ears inside the building.

Annie and Daavi exchanged a look.

"Now, girl will hack into the system," the man said again and pointed his gun to Daavi.

"Okay," Annie finally agreed scared to lose Daavi.

She took the computer and did as she was ordered. It took her only a minute to get in. She was barked orders by the leader and she did as she was told, even though she didn't want to. Finally she was finished.

That's when they heard cars driving there. It must be at least 3 more. The doors were opened and closed. Annie knew from the footsteps that there was 13 people coming in. She had excellent hearing. She heard the weapons to be loaded and ready to fire.

Annie got the moment, when the men walked in and she jumped Daavi down. They managed to crawl away, where a wall was protecting them. Annie took her knife from her ankle and threw it once, when the other room was quiet. A scream was heard. Annie took her weapon and shot as many times as she could. Then she was out of ammo. Their enemies response was the same. Annie and Daavi were on floor covering themselves from the gunfire. Then it stopped. Annie heard them clicking the guns, but they were out of ammo too, came out.

Annie pressed her lips to Daavi's for a quick kiss and then she came out. She showed her hands and had a wide smile on her face. Everybody was looking at the teenager coming out and aiming their weapons at the girl. Annie walked to the men.

The men stared just that girl. They were all sure that she'll pee herself in any second. She was just a kid and didn't know about those things. At least in their eyes.

Then first man cracked and ran to Annie. He tried to attack that young woman, but Annie fought back and then the man fell. Then the hell broke loose. All of the men standing wanted to attack that seemingly weak woman. Annie fought back – hand fight was her specialty after all. She noticed Daavi joining her as she fought the men.

It was not too soon, when all grown men were lying on the floor dead or suffering from deadly injuries.

"We have a problem, the bomb is under the kindergarten," Annie said and went to the computer.

She was typing like crazy, to stop the bomb. She was running out of time and she knew it. Daavi was standing behind her and he looked at her work. She tried to use all of her knowledge and logic. She had 20 seconds left, when finally the timer stopped.

Annie turned around cheering. She jumped into Daavi and kissed him. She was happy. She was so happy.

That's when a single shot was fired. The silence followed. A sniper bullet went through Annie's head and just like that she left the world.

Daavi was surprised by the shot, but then he felt Annie's body going limb. And that's when he opened his eyes and saw a bullet hole in the head of the woman he loves. His body suddenly went numb and he let her fall to the ground.

A teardrop fell from his eye. That's the moment NCIS gang rushed in and they saw the scene in front of them. Annie lying in the pool of blood and Daavi standing next to her, crying. Tony took her NCIS cap from his head and everybody lowered their guns. The silence was telling more that all the words ever could have.

A hero had fallen and they all took a moment to honor her.


	5. Chapter 5

They were in a funeral, watching as people cried and listening to the priest talking in language none of them understood. Tony, Abby, Ziva, McGee, Gibbs, Jenny and Ducky were there standing near the hole, where their friend's body was going to go. They found out that her real name was Annie Schultz, and she is from Estonia. They found that she was a smart kid and that she was loved here. They found a side they never knew about her.

_Never thought it would be me  
>Living in a shattered dream<br>How could this be in for me?  
>What I wouldn't give to have<br>A life to live, a day to plan  
>Instead I'll be forever seventeen<em>

I am watching the ceremony from far. I can't believe this is happening. I am only seventeen and yet they were here to remember me for the last time and then put my body into the soil, where it will stay forever. I could have had a life to live, a man to love and time to make plans for myself. Instead I am forever seventeen.

_Could have lived out every dream  
>I could have been most anything<em>

I could have been anything. I could have flied in the sky. I could have been a surgeon or lawyer or politician... But now I am nothing at all.

_Can someone wake me up?  
>I haven't lived yet<br>I'm only seventeen  
>God, did you forget?<br>I'm just a baby  
>And I don't wanna be<br>Forever seventeen_

Please someone snap me. I am only seventeen. I haven't seen life yet. I haven't done all the things I wanted to do. I haven't given myself to the man I love yet. I haven't told him I love him yet. If there is a God, then he's not seeing me. I am just a kid. And I don't wanna stay like this forever. I wanna live my life.

_I'll never have a bed to make  
>A test to take, a summer day<br>I'll always be forever seventeen  
>I could have had a family<br>If things had worked out differently  
>Instead I'll be forever seventeen<em>

At this moment I just want to make my bed. I wanna have to make the bed. I wanna feel the snowflakes fall down on me, I wanna feel the summer breeze, I wanna go to history lesson and take a test with Tank. I wanna get married and have a baby. I wanna have many babies. I don't wanna be forever seventeen. I wanna get different things. And everything could have been different, anything could be better.

_Could I have just one more day  
>A chance to learn from my mistakes<em>

I wanna have just one more day on the Earth. I wanna make up my mistakes. I wanna tell Daavi I love him. I wanna tell Gibbs I don't hate him. I wanna tell Jenny to go for it with Gibbs. I wanna tell Tony that he is sweet and kind and dreamy man. I wanna tell McGee that I did everything for fun, that I really like him. I wanna tell Abby to trust her heart and do what she wants. I wanna tell Ducky that his stories are fascinating. I wanna apologize to the teachers I have insulted and to the people I have mocked. I wanna make it right.

_Can someone wake me up?  
>I haven't lived yet<br>I'm only seventeen  
>God, did you forget?<br>I'm just a baby  
>And I don't wanna be<br>Forever seventeen_

Please, this is getting too far. Kids are not supposed to die. I am only seventeen and my body is six feet under. I am not ready to die yet. If anyone can hear me, then slap my head, pinch me, throw me into cold water... do whatever to make me wake up from this nightmare.

_In a matter of a moment  
>Life fell before my eyes<br>And now I'm looking at the meaning of  
>The miracle of life<br>Where are we going without even knowing  
>The answers deep inside<em>

And now I know the real meaning of life. The magic. I know the miracle to be alive and do things. I can see it all so clear now. And how could I have lived 17 years without really knowing. But now I know and I am ready to go back to my life.

_Forever seventeen_

But I won't get back there. I am buried in the ground of my home. I am dead. Killed by a single shot. I am no longer here to do anything.

_So don't give up  
>You haven't lived yet<br>You're only seventeen  
>And God did not forget<br>You're just a baby_

A woman takes my hand. I know her. She is Caitlin Todd. She tells me not to give up. That God is up here and he hadn't forgotten me, because I am only seventeen, I am just a baby trying to grow up. And I let her take me away. I let her pull me to the heaven. I let her pull me into eternity and leave everything behind. I do it only because I trust Kate and I know I have to.


End file.
